Answering the Question

Her website asks the question. Whether you know of her on a local or a national level.

Who is Nicka Smith?

While her husband (three sport star at Bolivar Central RaShad Smith) may be more famous in Hardeman County than she, on the national level, it’s no contest.

Her career as a professional genealogist, host, consultant, and documentarian has had the nation talking about her work for the past 20 years.

Born and raised in Southern California, Smith attended college in the Bay Area where she pursued a degree in Journalism, but upon graduating college in May of 2001, Smith’s search for a job the following fall was met by a difficult time of employment.

“The year I graduated, the world shifted a lot,” said Smith. “I graduated in May, and by September, it was September 11, 2001, so the job market was already on the decline.”

With little success finding a position in her field, Smith made the decision to look elsewhere.

“You work to eat to live, so I started working in healthcare, and the job that I had was basically like doing genealogy for doctors,” said Smith.

Smith’s passion for Genealogy grew.

“So I did that for a while, and then as time went on, I did genealogy and family history on the side, really sort of practicing what I envisioned the world was going to be like because at that time people weren’t really into genealogy.”

Smith later got a job she considered to be more creative adjacent to her passion in genealogy while continuing to personally hone the skill on the side.

During her time in the Bay Area, Smith met her husband and Hardeman County native Rashad Smith who was working in San Jose, CA, at the time, after which the two married and moved to Hardeman County.

“He’s the reason why we’re back in this area and have been here the last 10 years,” said Smith.

After moving to Bolivar in 2013, advances in internet searching made it easier for Smith to find information she needed, and as a result her research expanded.

Smith began to take off work once a year for research purposes, traveling with three of her cousins to places such as Mississippi and Louisiana where they visited courthouses and archives to dig up any and all family history discoverable.

“When we would go on these research trips, I would blog the whole time and take pictures, so that my family that wasn’t there could experience it with us,” said Smith.

Amidst her digging, Smith discovered a cousin she did not know she had and decided to reach out.

Smith’s newly found cousin worked for Ancestry as a corporate genealogist; moreover, the two met at a conference in Southern California where both were speakers and stayed in touch following the conference.

“Eventually”, said Smith. “She told me, ‘I think you would be awesome to work with us’”

Smith had not considered the possibility until then, after which she decided to pursue the opportunity.

Smith began as a consultant for Ancestry nearly seven years ago, and this past November, she became a permanent addition to the team as senior story producer.

Since starting her career in Genealogy, Smith has appeared on TODAY, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, an Emmy winning episode of the series Who Do You Think You Are, she was featured in the groundbreaking short film, A Dream Delivered: The Lost Letters of Hawkins Wilson, and has been interviewed by National Geographic, TIME, USA Today, and New York Times.

In addition, Smith is the host of BlackProGen LIVE, an innovative web show with more than 130 episodes focused on people of color genealogy and family history.

“Some days I’m on a set, I’m talking to people for a TV show, filming a movie, or just at the computer doing research or reviewing something for someone,” said Smith. “It really all depends on the day.”

While Smith has lived in Hardeman County for ten years now, she said most Hardeman Countians do not know what she does.

“I would say 95% of them don’t know what I do, and if someone does know me, they know me from being on the sidelines at the football games taking pictures,” added Smith.

While Smith no longer does research for hire, she teaches everything from conference presentations to webinars and assists people who are getting started in genealogy and need coaching or strategy.

“I’m just there kind of holding their hand and guiding them, and then I walk away which is why in some ways, I prefer coaching to doing research for people,” said Smith. “I feel it’s more meaningful for you to do it yourself, because there are certain things that you learn and experiences that you just can’t replicate elsewhere, an opportunity I don’t want to rob you of.”

One of Smith’s biggest discoveries concerning her family involved slavery and Native American people in a way she said she has never heard discussed.

“I have a card that my great grandfather’s name is on where he was granted his citizenship (of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), and he was given land, and not only him but two of my aunts,” said Smith. “Yet me and my son and my siblings and my nieces and nephews, we weren’t entitled to citizenship merely because we were enrolled as Freedmen.”

In 2017, Smith was able to get her citizenship along with her son’s, and since then, she has helped over 20 family members get enrolled.

“I would say that’s probably the biggest and most legacy connecting discovery,” added Smith.

In addition to her citizenship of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Smith is also a member of two lineage societies (Sons and Daughters of the Middle Passage (SDUSMP) and the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Smith also serves as the family historian and lead researcher for the Atlas family of Lake Providence, East Carroll, Louisiana, and guides as well as coaches an active group of historians at the Who is Nicka Smith Patreon community.

One of Smith’s goals is to centralize records of the enslaved.

“One of the biggest challenges is that this stuff is so dispersed it makes it almost hellacious for somebody to try to research it,” said Smith.

Smith’s encouragement to anyone either continuing their pursuit in or beginning genealogy research is to stay consistent and be willing to learn new things.

“We’re learning new aspects of history every single day, so you have to be open to processing new information and learning different things,” said Smith. “You have to play the long game, and I think it helps if you have someone there who supports you whether it’s a spouse, or a family member, or a friend, someone who gets where you’re trying to go.”

As far as steps to take when beginning a family search, Smith advises three.

First, start with yourself and what you know. Next, reach out to family for more information and documents. Then, document what you find.

Smith said she has been really blessed so far by her journey, and she hopes there is no end in sight!

For questions or help getting started on your genealogical journey, reach out to Nicka Smith through her website @https://www.whoisnickasmith.com/.

Story by Emily Gibson